Ramsar site
Wetland sites designated to have international importance by the Ramsar Convention
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As of January 2026, there are 2,520 Ramsar sites around the world, which protect 253,075,668 hectares (625,363,590 acres), and 172 national governments participate in the convention.
List of sites
The non-profit organisation Wetlands International provides access to the Ramsar database via the Ramsar Sites Information Service.
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Criteria for Ramsar sites
A wetland can be considered internationally important if any of the following nine criteria apply:
- Criterion 1: "it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region."
- Criterion 2: "it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities."
- Criterion 3: "it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region."
- Criterion 4: "it supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions."
- Criterion 5: "it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds."
- Criterion 6: "it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird."
- Criterion 7: "it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity."
- Criterion 8: "it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend."
- Criterion 9: "it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-dependent non-avian animal species."
Classification System
The Ramsar Classification System for Wetland Type is a wetland classification developed within the Ramsar Convention intended as a means for fast identification of the main types of wetlands for the purposes of the Convention.
Marine/coastal wetlands
- Saline water:
- Permanent:
- Shores:
- (D) Rocky marine shores
- (E) Sand, shingle or pebble shores
- Saline or brackish water:
- Intertidal:
- (G) Intertidal mud, sand or salt flats
- (H) Intertidal marshes
- (I) Intertidal forested wetlands
- Lagoons:
- (J) Coastal brackish/saline lagoons
- Estuarine waters:
- (F) Estuarine waters
- Intertidal:
- Saline, brackish, or fresh water:
- Subterranean:
- (Zk(a)) Karst and other subterranean hydrological systems
- Subterranean:
- Fresh water:
- Lagoons:
- (K) Coastal freshwater lagoons
- Lagoons:
Inland wetlands
- Fresh water:
- Flowing water:
- Lakes/pools:
- Permanent >8 ha (O)
- Permanent < 8 ha(Tp)
- Seasonal / Intermittent > 8 ha (P)
- Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
- Marshes on inorganic soils:
- Permanent (herb dominated) (Tp)
- Permanent / Seasonal / Intermittent (shrub dominated)(W)
- Permanent / Seasonal / Intermittent (tree dominated) (Xf)
- Seasonal/intermittent (herb dominated) (Ts)
- Marshes on peat soils:
- Permanent (non-forested)(U)
- Permanent (forested)(Xp)
- Marshes on inorganic or peat soils:
- Marshes on inorganic or peat soils / High altitude (alpine) (Va)
- Marshes on inorganic or peat soils / Tundra (Vt)
- Saline, brackish or alkaline waters:
- Lakes
- Permanent (Q)
- Seasonal/intermittent (R)
- Marshes/pools
- Permanent (Sp)
- Seasonal/intermittent (Ss)
- Lakes
- Fresh, saline, brackish or alkaline waters:
- Geothermal (Zg)
- Subterranean (Zk(b))
Human-made wetlands
- (1): Aquaculture ponds
- (2): Ponds (farm and stock ponds, small stock tanks, or area less than 8 ha)
- (3): Irrigated land
- (4): Seasonally flooded agricultural land
- (5): Salt exploitation sites
- (6): Water Storage areas/Reservoirs
- (7): Excavations
- (8): Wastewater treatment areas
- (9): Canals and drainage channels or ditches
- (Zk(c)): human-made karst and other subterranean hydrological systems
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